Z-News October 2016

Newsletter of the NEWS Zilker Neighborhood Z Association Z Austin, Texas OCTOBER 2016 Established 1981

Traffic Sewers with Trees ZNA Election Meeting What’s in the transportation bonds for Zilker by Lorraine Atherton, ZNA Newsletter Editor October 24

CRITICS OF THE MAYOR’S TRANSPORTATION bond package Monday 6:30-8:30 pm have labeled it “deceptive, dishonest, and destructive,” at based largely on conflicting views of the corridor plans. Zilker Elementary School Whether the bonds pass or not on November 8, the South Lamar Corridor Plan is important to ZNA; it may 1900 Bluebonnet serve as a blueprint for the future of the neighborhood.  It’s time to remember what we wanted from a corridor ZNA Officer Election (page 9) plan and try to understand what was and was not recommended by the lead consultant, HDR Engineering. Travis County Commissioner Precinct 3 Candidates The HDR recommendations seem to be based on the “traffic sewer” model of transportation planning, treat- District 5 Council Member Kitchen and City staff on the South Lamar ing streets, bike lanes, and sidewalks as pipelines that Corridor Improvement Plan, traffic must collect and carry away their load as quickly as congestion, and special event parking possible. In the plan, HDR does not analyze South La- in the neighborhood (page 5) mar travel patterns or east-west circulation in any use- ACL Fest Feedback (page 5) ful way, and it does not address the effect of thousands Holiday Families Program (page 8) of new apartment units, intensified commercial activity, Foundation Communities and changes in park and entertainment traffic on Bar- Welcome Home Baskets (page 6) ton Springs Road. Because of that, the plan was obso-  lete before the final report was published in April. Last month, Capital Metro announced plans to reroute the Newcomers, homeowners, renters, 803 Rapid buses around the big bus pullout recom- business neighbors mended in the 400 block of South Lamar, at the busiest   intersection in the corridor. All Welcome The primary recommenda- (Continued on page 10)

Election Day is Tuesday, November 8. Meet the Precinct 3 Candidates Early voting is Oct 24-Nov 4. ZNA has invited the two candidates Precincts 332 and 340 vote at Zilker School (1900 Bluebonnet) in the Travis County Precinct 3 Precinct 342 votes at Commissioner race to speak for Barton Hills School (2108 Barton Hills Dr.) a few minutes at our Oct. 24 meeting. You may also vote at any other Travis County Republican incumbent Gerald Daugherty polling place on election day. is being challenged by Check election info at traviscountyelections.org or call 512-238-VOTE. Democrat David Holmes. Page 2 ZNEWS OCTOBER 2016 School Yard Updates: News from Zilker Elementary and Little Zilker Park

Zilker Principal Randall W. Thomson reports: Enrollment at Zilker is up! While some other schools and the district overall have seen a decline in enrollment over the past two years, Zilker is strong with 566 students—the largest enrollment in many years—perhaps ever! We appreciate the continued interest in and support of our school. AISD is conducting preliminary work on another bond election, perhaps as early as November 2017. Neighbors should go to the district's main web site at austinisd.org to find a link there that includes more details and opportunities for community input in the coming months.

You’ve seen the flyers, you’re hearing the buzz. Campus Earthworks ZAMBOREE THE SECOND PHASE OF AISD’s effort to stop flood- Zilker Elementary’s annual fall carnival ing of classrooms, redirect water runoff, and pre- is Saturday, October 22, noon-4 pm. vent erosion behind Zilker Elementary School It is at the school, and it is super fun! should be complete by the time you read this. Steps and terraces were built behind the gym This year look for the last fall (see ZNews October 2015). A drainage human gyroscope, inflatable mazes and slides, channel to direct water to the north parking lot dance floor for kids, Hat Creek Burger Co. and has been dug along the top of the bank behind veggie burgers, Roppolo pizza, snow cones from the school and covered with sod. Kona Ice and Flavalicious, CAKE WALK!!, carnival The Zilker PTA’s Sustainability Committee games and prizes, face painting, human foosball. has scheduled workdays in Jabo's garden on Oc- Wristbands $20, tickets 50 cents. tober 20, November 17, and December 8, at 2-4 Other school events: PM. Look for updates on the school’s web site, zilkerelem.org. Please stop in at the front office General PTA meeting, Oct. 18, 7:50 am, to check in if you are on campus during school in the cafeteria hours (until 2:57 PM). BookPeople fundraiser, Nov. 13-19 School will be out for the holidays Because of other work on campus and in Lit- Nov. 21-25 and Dec. 21-Jan. 3 tle Zilker Park, no official fall workday is planned, but see page 4 for info on the Austin Keep up with school events through Parks Foundation volunteer day on November 5. zilkerelem.org/calendar and The PTA and Friends of Little Zilker Park will be ZEN, the Zilker Elementary Newsletter. participating in the Spring It's My Park Day. OCTOBER 2016 ZNEWS Page 3

Little Zilker Park Support the Friends of Little Zilker Park now. Bluebonnet Entry Project Help refurbish the park entry and make the tree planting efforts possible. Wins Funding, Contact [email protected] or Breaks Ground [email protected] to keep up with park projects, planning, and events. THE LONG-AWAITED WORK on the Or donate to the Friends of Little Zilker Park Bluebonnet Lane entrance to Little through the Austin Parks Foundation. Zilker Neighborhood Park, adjacent Visit austinparks.org/sfaform/ to Zilker Elementary School, will support-little-zilker-neighborhood-park/ begin this month. The Friends of Little Zilker (FLZP) has received word from the Editor’s note: Thanks to Gina Diehl, Jill Rhoden, Kristin city parks department that the con- Galindo, Patrick Aziz, and Randy Thomson for contributing tractor is lined up and the materials FLZP, PTA, and school news to these reports. have started to arrive. The project will remove the upper part of the railed ramp, between the playscape and the tennis courts. A more open design will make more room for people to be near the playscape, protect the playscape from storm runoff, reduce pavement over the tree root zone, and add a new area with benches. The concept started back in 2007, when ZNA and the Zilker PTA joined forces to create a park and school campus master plan and established FLZP to implement it. FLZP gathered community support signatures in the summer of 2015, ZNA contributed $10,000 for match- ing funds, and FLZP applied to the City’s Neighborhood Partnering Program last fall. In February, the Cost Share Award was approved. The work, managed by Austin Parks and Recreation Department, will start the last week of October and run through the end of the year. When the hardscape and drainage changes are done, FLZP will be organizing several volunteer events to complete the new entry land- scape. Sign up with the Friends of Little Zilker Park now to help refurbish the park entry and make the tree planting efforts possible. PAGE 4 ZNEWS OCTOBER 2016

Award for Zilker Park South Grow Zone The efforts to restore and beautify the channels by Gail Rothe, ZNA Parks Committee in "South" Zilker Park have been recognized by Keep Austin Beautiful. THE FRIENDS OF ROBERT E. LEE TRIBUTARY The Friends group was nominated for a Keep was formed in the fall of 2014 to support the Austin Beautiful Award, and the panel of judges City's grow zone project in a way that also ad- chose it as a winner in the Beautification Achieve- dresses concerns raised by neighbors and park ment category. Each year Keep Austin Beautiful users (austintexas.gov/blog/grow-zones). The honors the most outstanding environmental efforts tributary borders the road along the sidewalk of individuals, schools, and organizations in eight categories. Winners will be recognized at the annu- and captures rainfall runoff from our neighbor- al awards celebration November 17. The 2016 hoods that then flows into Barton Creek. In Beautify Bash celebration will be at the Umlauf 2015 we added a second channel in the “south” Sculpture Garden, 605 Robert E. Lee, right across Zilker Park area: Old Little Zilker Channel, the road from the REL tributary. which starts at Barton Hills Drive and ends at See the complete list of winners on the KAB Barton Creek, but now carries little flow. website. Thanks to all of them for helping to clean, The Friends group consists primarily of beautify, and protect our Austin environment. residents of Zilker and Barton Hills neighborhoods, although we have participants for work- Grow Zone workdays will be scheduled over the days from all over Austin and beyond. To date coming months. If you are interested in we have held 19 workdays and many smaller participating, please contact Gail Rothe at work efforts that total over 500 hours. [email protected] or 512-659-7955. A major goal this fall and winter is to cut down ragweed between the sidewalk and the A New Day for It's My Park Day tributary and in and around the adjacent de- You asked, the Austin Parks Foundation delivered. tention pond. This project involves planting Join parks friends for APF’s first-ever Fall It's these same areas with relatively low-height My Park Day on Saturday, November 5. APF native grasses and other plants that (1) pro- Friends groups are hosting projects like clean- vide greater diversity of native plants in the ups, tree mulching, and planting in parks all over riparian area, (2) stabilize the channel bank, the city. We need YOU to help us spruce up Aus- which receives considerable flow from the tin's parks trails and green spaces, so grab your nearby hillside, and (3) provide a more aes- friends, neighbors, co-workers and family, and thetic look to the grow zone in response to join us in making this inaugural Fall volunteer day neighborhood concerns. a huge success! Contact austinparks.org. OCTOBER 2016 ZNEWS PAGE 5

Festival Feedback Goes Beyond Austin City Limits

For the Austin City Limits Music Festival and other events, ZNA volunteers meet regularly with the City and pro- moters to develop and implement strategies to mitigate and monitor parking, traffic, and noise problems in and around the park, and that includes gathering post-festival feedback from neighbors. To provide feedback about the festival—what worked this year, and what didn’t work— please send your comments to [email protected] or at- tend the ZNA meeting on Oc- tober 24 at Zilker Elementary School. Last year, the City Council created the Parkland Events Task Force (PETF) to develop recommendations regarding events on parkland, particularly Zilker Park, Auditorium Shores, and Festival Beach. For neighborhoods close to these parks, major events are now routine. Residents of Barton Hills, Bouldin Creek, and Zilker must deal with four months of large events that require a week or more to set up and then more time to restore the park after the event. The PETF has completed its work and will publish its final report and recommendations later this month on the PETF web site. Look for them at austintexas.gov/petf. Your neighbor, David King PETF Co-Chair and Council District 5 Appointee Page 6 ZNEWS OCTOBER 2016

Welcome Home to Bluebonnet Studios on Welcome Home Baskets include South Lamar (bold indicates most commonly needed items): Full/double bed size sheets, Dear Neighbors, blanket, pillow; bath towel set, show- Foundation Communities has a new opportunity for er curtain and rings, bath mat; plates you to help prevent homelessness and support our new and bowls, glassware, eating utensils; neighbors. Since 1990, Foundation Communities has been pots and pans, kitchen utensils, kitchen providing attractive, affordable homes and support ser- towel, can opener; cleaning supplies, vices for thousands of low-income families and individuals, sponge, mop, broom, paper towels, small empowering them with the tools they need to succeed. trash can; laundry basket and deter- Bluebonnet Studios, Foundation Communities’ 20th gent, toilet paper, toilet brush; desk affordable housing complex, is nearing completion at 2301 lamp, alarm clock South Lamar Blvd. Soon it will be home to 107 single adults, including low-income workers, veterans, individu- Contributing is easy! als with disabilities, and seniors. They’ll get a new begin- Please consider donating $225, ning with an affordable place to call home in the heart of $150, $75, $50, $25, or $10. Austin and support services right at their doorstep. The Zilker neighborhood is full of thoughtful and giv- Donate online at https:// ing people. I hope you all will join me in rolling out the red foundcom.org/get-involved/donate/. carpet to our new neighbors by donating Welcome Home Be sure to write “Bluebonnet Welcome Baskets filled with household essentials. Home Baskets” in the comment box. Cost of each basket is approximately $225. We must Send a check made out to fill 107 baskets with the items listed on this page, so your Foundation Communities help is greatly needed. or gift cards (Visa Gift or Wal-Mart, Our target date to fill all the baskets is October 31. If you have questions, contact Holly by phone (512-484-9721) HEB, Target) to or email ([email protected]). Holly Bell, Bluebonnet Neighborhood Sincerely, Team, 2203 Euclid Ave., Austin, TX, 78704. Nancy Maclaine, Judy Schneringer, Donate items directly by emailing Skyler Stewart, Kim McKnight, Holly Bell [email protected] Bluebonnet Neighborhood Team Leaders All contributions are tax deductible. OCTOBER 2016 ZNEWS Page 7

City Council denies homeowners relief from McMansion carport issues

EARLIER THIS MONTH the City “McMansion Buyer Beware” alert from the July 2014 newsletter. Council voted 5-5 to keep the If you are thinking about buying a house with what looks like an McMansion ordinance exactly as unfinished garage, or with both a garage and a carport, be aware it is, with its absurd set of gar- that you probably will not be permitted to enclose your parking age and carport exemptions. area or add to the house without removing at least some of the Two years ago the Residential parking structure. Design and Compatibility Com- If you are worried about an oversized house being built near mission, along with City staff, you, the ZNA zoning committee ([email protected]) can recommended that the ordi- help you track permits, show you how to register with the City, nance be simplified by treating and teach you to read the Subchapter F worksheet and communi- garages and carports the same. cate your concerns to review staff. Builders were taking carport exemptions for doorless garages, which allowed them to build houses well over the McMansion size limit. When new owners tried to install a garage door or enclose the carport, they were stuck with code violations. In the Zilker neighborhood, the gaming has escalated this year. Builders are trying to take two exemptions, one for a carport and one for a garage. These houses can be hundreds of square feet over the size limit. As a result, the ZNA zoning committee is reviving its

Find the LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS guide to all the local election info online at lwvaustin.org/voter-guide/. Who else but the LWV is a non- partisan, political organization and one of America’s most trust- ed grassroots organizations? The LWV... encouraging active par- ticipation in government … working to increase understand- ing of major public policy issues … influencing public policy through education and advocacy … making democracy work! Visit the League’s web site at www.lwvtexas.org. PAGE 8 ZNEWS OCTOBER 2016

Make the Holidays Happier for Our Neighbors Become a Zilker Neighborhood Elf by Harmony Grogan, ZNA Holiday Families Program Coordinator

THE HOLIDAY SEASON is truly the time for nations, gift cards, or purchasing a gift directly sharing, and the Zilker Neighborhood Associa- from the wish lists. Local businesses can give a tion will again provide a special holiday for helping hand too! families who need assistance within our com- If you would like to make a contribution or munity. All families are selected from Zilker learn more about volunteering as a ZNA Elf, Elementary School, and each family will com- please complete and mail the form below or send plete a wish list with the help of the school an e-mail to [email protected] for more counselor. From these lists, information. Or come to the volunteers, known as ZNA ZNA meeting on Oct. 24. You Elves, shop, wrap, and deliv- may also donate online through er gifts to families for www.zilkerneighborhood.org, Christmas. the ZNA web site. Any money We need your help and received for the program will be holiday spirit! Please consid- used to purchase gifts for the er making a donation to the families. Gift cards (in any ZNA Holiday Families Pro- amount) will be given directly gram through monetary do- to a sponsored family.

ZNA Holiday Families Program Volunteer Sign Up 2016 Yes, I want to help make the holidays happier for Zilker families. Name:______E-mail:______Address:______Phone:______I would like to purchase a gift from a family's gift list. Please contact me when the lists arrive. I would like to become a Zilker Elf. Please contact me with more information. I have enclosed a check for $______(Write “Holiday Families” in the memo line.) Please make checks payable to Zilker Neighborhood Association and mail with this form to: ZNA Holiday Families Program, 2009 Arpdale, Austin, TX 78704 To donate online, visit zilkerneighborhood.org

BECOME A ZNA MEMBER TODAY Membership is open to Zilker residents (renters or homeowners) 18 years old or older. (Map on page 9.) Nonresident property owners are not eligible for membership. Annual dues are $7 per person. Please list each member’s name and e-mail address below.

Name:______E-mail:______Name:______E-mail:______Address:______Phone:______Dues amount: ______Additional contribution: ______Total Enclosed: ______Please make checks payable to Zilker Neighborhood Association and mail with this form to: ZNA Memberships, 2009 Arpdale St, Austin, TX 78704 or bring this form with you to the next ZNA meeting For ZNA bylaws and other information, visit zilkerneighborhood.org. OCTOBER 2016 ZNEWS PAGE 9

ZNA includes Nominations for Zilker Park and Next Year’s ZNA Officers Rabb Road on the west and ex- ON OCTOBER 24, the Zilker Neigh- tends to the borhood Association will elect offic- railroad on the ers to serve from November 1, 2016, east, Barton through October 2017. ZNA’s by- Skyway on the laws allow the executive committee south, and Lady to accept nominations for the eight Bird Lake on the elected positions up to a week be- north. Residents fore the fall election meeting, so on both sides of you have until Monday, October 17, boundary streets to volunteer to serve or to nominate may join ZNA. someone else. Call any of the executive committee members on page 12, or e-mail them through the ZNA Web site, ZilkerNeighborhood.org. The ZNA executive committee Zilker is in City Council District 5, represented by has nominated the following slate Council Member ANN KITCHEN of officers: Contact [email protected] President: Jeff Jack Responsive Office First VP: Dave Piper www.austintexas.gov/government, 512-978-2105 Second VP: Bobby Rigney Secretary: Gary Hamilton DORA ANGUIANO, Constituent liaison; Treasurer: David King [email protected] Social Chair: Open DONNA TIEMANN, Chief of Staff; ANC Delegate: Katy Fendrich [email protected] ZNews Editor: Lorraine Atherton KEN CRAIG, Senior policy advisor; [email protected] ZNA Membership and JASON LOPEZ, Policy advisor; Voting Privileges [email protected] All ZNA memberships run from Nov. 1 to Oct. 31. To be eligible to vote at the October election or any other ZNA meeting, you must be a member of ZNA for at least 30 days before the date of the vote. If you were a ZNA member in 2015, you may pay your 2016 dues at the Oct. 24 meeting and still be eligible to vote at that meeting. Your membership, however, will expire at the end of the month, and you will have to renew your dues to retain voting privileges in 2017. For first-time members, dues paid after Sept. 24 will be credited to the membership year beginning Nov. 1. Page 10 ZNEWS OCTOBER 2016

(Continued from page 1) tion, to replace the Interested in problem-solving and alternative chicken lane with a landscaped median, would transportation here in Zilker? be a good start, if it were designed as well as Join the ZNA Transportation Committee the median on Barton Springs Road. It isn’t. ([email protected]) or The favored arrangement is a wide median in WaBuCy Zilker (Walk, Bus, Cycle) = neighbors the center, two travel lanes for cars in each di- working to increase walking, bus riding, and cycling rection, a bike lane on each side divided from for transportation and to advocate for related the car lanes by a curb or another planted me- infrastructure improvements in the Zilker area. dian, and finally a wide sidewalk divided from find WaBuCy on Facebook, [email protected], the bike lane. All those rows of street trees look or e-mail [email protected] pretty in the sketches, but they take up space that South Lamar doesn’t have. There are more sets 390 miles as the 10-year target for new side- than 60 small businesses that have buildings or walks. From 390 miles to 50 miles? That sounds parking in the right-of-way on South Lamar, like the plan is moving us backward. and any widening of the street is likely to con- The promise to “reduce peak congestion de- flict with new streetscapes at close to 50 recent- lays” by “improving intersections to speed traffic” ly redeveloped properties, including the new reminds me of the congestion-management fad of Lamar Union and the latest Foundation Com- the 1990s, when cities across the country used munities housing. grants meant for public transit to “improve” failed Let’s Move Toward Health intersections. After the money ran out, the Sur- The only thing I would salvage from the final face Transportation Policy Project concluded that South Lamar Corridor report is the Health Im- congestion and pollution were the same or worse pact Assessment in Appendix E, written by a in those cities, but better in the cities that had in- different consultant. It does try to look at actu- vested in transit. A local example is the intersec- al travel behavior on South Lamar, and it ad- tion of South Lamar and Barton Springs Road; it’s mits that the corridor was in the midst of mas- been widened at least three times, and it still sive changes during the period of the study. scores an F. No, we can’t build our way out of con- Many of the policy recommendations in Appen- gestion. “Computerizing” traffic signals won’t dix E have already been implemented and, make a difference; nor will building pullout lanes most important, do not require bond funding. “for buses so they don’t block traffic.” And linking Measures like lowering speed limits, restricting faster traffic to greater safety is simply irresponsi- left turns, closing unsafe curb cuts, and requir- ble. The question is, do those mailers accurately ing new construction and remodeling projects to reflect what is in the corridor plans? If the corri- meet current design standards do not require dor plans are better than the Move Austin For- bond funding, but they are transforming South ward ads, are they likely to be built? Will they be Lamar right now. worth the expense? Glossing Over a Flawed Plan Certainly Not Carved in Stone The critics are right about the Move Austin At the July ZNA meeting, several speakers insist- Forward campaign to pass the bonds. Its glossy ed that the South Lamar corridor plan had been mailers proclaim “A modern high tech transpor- thoroughly vetted. I’m not sure what they meant tation plan” and then offer a list of tired old by that, but according to the City’s Transportation myths and broken promises from 30 years ago, Department staff, “none of the plans will be for- without even a nod to the effect that fiber optic mally presented or adopted by Council.” The exec- and wireless communications are having on utive summary, report, and recommendations are how, why, and when we need to travel. At the not signed; there is no title page or cover letter top of the list in my mailbox was “Building up identifying the responsible persons, either with to 50 miles of new sidewalks.” Sounds impres- the consultant HDR or with City staff. When it sive if you’re looking at just one district, but the comes to competing for capital improvement dol- City’s latest master plan estimates that Austin lars, recommendations with no author might as has 2,580 miles of missing sidewalks, and it well be written in disappearing ink. OCTOBER 2016 ZNEWS Page 11

Traffic Is Falling and It Can’t Get Up In Appendix C (Travel Demand Forecast) of the corridor plan, HDR compares 2001 traffic counts with 2013 counts and concludes that traffic volumes along S. Lamar “have not significantly increased over time.” In fact, the counts have dropped significantly. For example, vehicles per day north of Riverside Drive dropped from 47,954 in 2001 to 39,900 in 2013. The study’s count from September 2014 is even less, 38,500 vpd, a decrease of 20% from 2001 and 27% from the peak in 1992 (52,980 vpd). Counts between Oltorf and Manchaca peaked at 43,700 vpd in 1992; by 2014 it was down 18% to 35,807. Instead of asking why traffic counts on South Lamar dropped back to 1980 levels, HDR instead uses old TxDOT and CAMPO fore- casts to predict “an overall 23 per- cent growth” in automobile traffic by 2035, reversing the demographic and travel-pattern trends of the last 25 years. Someday Austin planners will consider the possibility of growth without cars. Meanwhile, the best we can do is keep driving less. ZNEWS OCTOBER 2016

Newsletter of the Zilker Neighborhood Association www.zilkerneighborhood.org 2009 Arpdale St., Austin, TX 78704

E-mail: [email protected] Editor: Lorraine Atherton, 512-447-7681 Ad Sales: Dave Piper, About the Zilker Neighborhood Association

512-916-9636 ZNA holds quarterly meetings on the last Monday of Distribution: Open January, April , July, and October, at Zilker Elemen- Web site: Dave Piper tary School, 1900 Bluebonnet Lane . The Executive Committee meets at the Umlauf Museum, 605 Robert Advertisers: ZNA reserves this E. Lee Road, newsletter's limited advertising 7 PM the first Monday of most space for businesses based within Watch the Web site for updates. months. the boundaries of the association. Our Purpose: To improve the quality of life in the 2016 Executive Committee of neighborhood in matters of land use, environmental the Zilker Neighborhood protection, public services, consumer protection, Association preservation of the historic and unique character of the community; to provide support in other matters of Officers: neighborhood concern; and to promote and participate President: David King, 512-415-6016 in the civic life of the city. 1st Vice President: Open 2nd Vice President: Dave Piper Secretary: Bobby Rigney Treasurer: David King Social Chair: Dave Floyd Austin Neighborhoods Council Delegate: Jeff Jack Newsletter Editor: Lorraine Atherton

Other executive members: Parks and Environment Chair: Gardner Sumner, 512-468-6200 Zoning and Code Chair: Bill Neale, [email protected]

The Executive Committee may be contacted by e-mail through www.zilkerneighborhood.org